My First Salt Water Tank: A Progression

Making a post to follow the progress of my first saltwater tankas an inspiration for others and a learning tool. Please feel free to leave comments and tips!

Day 1:


The final set up. Took me ages to decide how I wanted my rocks.
Equipment:
Fluval Evo 13.5 w/stock equipment
Dry rock
Crushed, live aragonite
Aquatop power head
Filter floss (in bottom of second chamber)

I have seeded filter media that I'll drop in to immediately cycle the tank. Salinity isn't right yet (I ran out of salt) and I don't have a heater yet.

 

Looks cool! Following along even though I know next to nothing about salt.

 

Glad you're doing a build thread OP! Happy to follow along.

 

Ooo this will be fun to follow

Although, is your seeded bacteria from a Freshwater source? If so, simply dropping it in won't insta-cycle unfortunately, you'll just insta-kill them haha

 

Ooo this will be fun to follow

Although, is your seeded bacteria from a Freshwater source? If so, simply dropping it in won't insta-cycle unfortunately, you'll just insta-kill them haha

I have a little 2.5 gallon that's been running for about a month or more with some hermit's and a snail. Although, I did seed it with filter floss from my Freshwater

 

Day 2:

Went to the lfs for my salt. Ended up getting a hot pink acan frag for under $10. Poor thing isn't doing so well so we'll see how it does.
Also got a Halloween hermit on request if the roommate.



Currently acclimating them both. Hermit is already hard at work cleaning off all the algae from the frag!



Placed the frag in the tank. Should I move it further in the dark or more into the light?! Want to make sure this little baby has a good chance of recovering. Any tips?!

 

Hmm, I have no idea what the stock light output is on that tank, but generally it's good to start at the bottom of the tank. I'd keep it in the sand, but not shadowed by a ledge or anything, for about a week. Then if you want to move it onto the rockwork, give it a try and see how it does. Remember, consistency is key, so give it time and don't move it more than absolutely necessary. Acans generally do well near the bottom of the tank, but it all depends on the light of course.

 

The stock lighting has 31 LEDs with a color temp of 14,000 if that helps at all. Where it is right now, it's not completely shaded by the light because of the ledge. How many days should I give it to acclimate?

 

I'm not the best to help you with lighting, but the acan shouldn't be shaded by the ledge. It needs direct light, but not strong light necessarily. It's still considered a lower light coral, which is why they are usually kept in the bottom half of the tank. It really depends on the light though. You might want to search for the PAR your light provides at different levels of the tank. Acans generally prefer low PAR, around 75-100 I think, while a higher light coral, like an SPS, might want PAR to be at 350-400.

Basically, I would keep it in the sand for at least a week, then I might move it no more than half way up on the rock work. I think it would look nice low on the rocks to the right, or on it's own little rock right there in the sand. From there, leave it alone and watch it for changes. If it continues to look healthy, it can stay. If it seems to be struggling, it may need more or less light or flow. That's what you're always looking for with corals, trying to give them what they require with light and flow. Acans are pretty easy going too. Congrats on your tank's first coral!

 

I'll see how it's doing in the morning and move it to an area with better light. I haven't been able to find any info on the PAR ratings for the tank, unfortunately. I do know that the stock lighting can grow softies and LPS. I'll look at some successful, established tanks to see where there acans are to get an idea

 

Just to make sure - the tank is cycled yeah?
Moving filter floss from your freshwater set-up to a saltwater tank will not instant cycle the tank. I know this for a fact, because I actually tried moving all my established cycled bio-media from my Freshwater tank to set-up my Saltwater tank. I don't know the exact sciency lingual, but essentially it's different beneficial bacteria make-up between Freshwater and SW.

With that said. Neat looking Fluval 13.5.
If you have the stock lighting from Fluval. The lighting itself isn't that strong and the Acan can go towards the top-middle part of the tank.
Also, I would strongly advise against trying to save unhealthy looking corals in a new tank. It's never a good recipe. Especially when you are first starting out, I think it's best to set yourself up for the best outcome possible.

 

Just to make sure - the tank is cycled yeah?
Moving filter floss from your freshwater set-up to a saltwater tank will not instant cycle the tank. I know this for a fact, because I actually tried moving all my established cycled bio-media from my Freshwater tank to set-up my Saltwater tank. I don't know the exact sciency lingual, but essentially it's different beneficial bacteria make-up between Freshwater and SW.

With that said. Neat looking Fluval 13.5.
If you have the stock lighting from Fluval. The lighting itself isn't that strong and the Acan can go towards the top-middle part of the tank.
Also, I would strongly advise against trying to save unhealthy looking corals in a new tank. It's never a good recipe. Especially when you are first starting out, I think it's best to set yourself up for the best outcome possible.

The filter media was from a 2.5 gallon Saltwater tank that has been running for about a month. There might have been some confusion as I seeded the 2.5 gallon with filter floss from my Freshwater tank. Apparently, there are some bacteria that are similar enough between Freshwater and Saltwater that you can seed a tank (don't quote me on that ). The 2.5 g also had alive rock along with the media.

As suggested, I've moved the acan up to the top of my rock hoping it will fare a little better. It's already small polyp closed up a little when I moved it but has since re inflated, so I still have some hope for it.

 

Ah gotcha about the filter floss.
Even though Freshwater and Saltwater bacteria has some similarities. It is not an instant cycle. I can 100% say that with confidence. I had lotssssss of Seachem Matrix bio-media, well established from my Freshwater tank. Put it over to my new Saltwater set-up with man-made reef rock and it was not an instant cycle. I can say it will help a new cycle, but no an instant cycle lol.

I would move the acan to the middle-top portion of the rock. Not the tippy top, as a jic.
What's wrong with the Acan btw? If anything, if you have Coral RX, you can use that to dip the coral and help it heal if the coral looks unhealthy.

 

Ah gotcha about the filter floss.
Even though Freshwater and Saltwater bacteria has some similarities. It is not an instant cycle. I can 100% say that with confidence. I had lotssssss of Seachem Matrix bio-media, well established from my Freshwater tank. Put it over to my new Saltwater set-up with man-made reef rock and it was not an instant cycle. I can say it will help a new cycle, but no an instant cycle lol.

I would move the acan to the middle-top portion of the rock. Not the tippy top, as a jic.
What's wrong with the Acan btw? If anything, if you have Coral RX, you can use that to dip the coral and help it heal if the coral looks unhealthy.

Not sure what's wrong with it. The polyps are extremely small and look to be closed. I can't tell, but it looks like tiny tentacles are extended


Also, pretty sure I mistakenly bought a white spotted/hairy legged hermit crab.

 

You may want to move the acan all the way to the bottom. It maybe getting too much light. That stock LED is pretty decent and is more than enough for an acan IMHO. See if you can get it to extend its polyps out like mine here. This one lives in my 5 gallon Fluval Spec V. Once it's happy you can move it up if you want to. I keep mine on the substrate because I want it to grow in a nice dome shape. If you put it on live rock and leave it there it will eventually encrust to the rock BTW. Meaning it'll be difficult to move at that point.

 

My earlier hypothesis was correct!! The most forward facing polyp is a baby and does have it's tentacles extended, it's just so tiny that it's tentacles are too. I tested this by soaking some food in tank water and then squirting some of the water on the polyp. It immediately retracted it's tentacles, so I then proceeded to drop some of the pellets on the polyp. I don't have any coral food and am using a nano/fry pellet, just to get some food into my little baby.

You may want to move the acan all the way to the bottom. It maybe getting too much light. That stock LED is pretty decent and is more than enough for an acan IMHO. See if you can get it to extend its polyps out like mine here. This one lives in my 5 gallon Fluval Spec V. Once it's happy you can move it up if you want to. I keep mine on the substrate because I want it to grow in a nice dome shape. If you put it on live rock and leave it there it will eventually encrust to the rock BTW. Meaning it'll be difficult to move at that point.


View attachment 376648

Also, absolutely beautiful coral! I'm not quite decided on whether I want this frag to end up encrusting or not, mostly just focused on getting it to survive

 

I bought this colony with 3 heads about 2 and 1/2 years ago. Has grown now with many more heads. I don't manually feed any of my corals. I just make sure my params are spot on.

 

I bought this colony with 3 heads about 2 and 1/2 years ago. Has grown now with many more heads. I don't manually feed any of my corals. I just make sure my params are spot on.

Many corals do not need to be spot fed, but will definitely benefit from it (or so my research has told me :joyful. I mostly just want to make sure the little guy has enough nutrients. I find that with fish at least, making sure they have food in their bellies increases their success at fighting diseases and making it through QT.
What kind of colony did you get? An acan?

 

I found my Acans to thrive at around 100 PAR. I doubt the stock LEDs can put out even 80PAR at the bottom. I think max PAR those lights can put out at the tippy top is around 130, maybe 150 max. So just a thought.

Here are my acans that's at the bottom of my tank, but I also run a slightly stronger LED light.

 

Day 5:

Took the hairy leg hermit back to the store in exchange for a scarlet reef hermit. Got a light timer and heater. The temperature is fine during the day when the lights are on, but drops a bit when they're off as we often have the window open in the room. Also upgraded to a refractometer from a hydrometer and I can already say that I love it! If you're new to the hobby, just invest in a refractometer right away. I ordered mine off of Amazon for $20.
(refractometer)
(light timer)

Added my two zebra leg hermits and snail from the 2.5 gallon tank into the 13.5 gallon. Everyone seems active and is exploring.

Exciting update on my Acan frag! I added a piece of seaweed to the tank for the hermits (there's not much algae for them to munch on quite yet). It got shredded by my powerhead and sent a bunch of little pieces of seaweed into the water column. At this time, the tank light were already off (thanks to my new timer ) meaning the polyps had it's feeder tentacles fully extended. It managed to snag one of the pieces of seaweed and is eating it, all on its own! Pretty confident that this little guy is perfectly fine and will eventually become a large colony.

 

Day 16:

Fish and coral are acclimated and made it in the tank overnight. Bought them on Friday and transported them down to school in a bucket. Unfortunately I didn't have a heater, so I'll have to be on the look out for icu.
Got a pair of normal oscellaris clowns and a red scooter blenny. My 2.5 is still up and running, providing me with some cocepods for the time being that I can move to the 13.5 g.
As for corals, I got a Duncan, mushroom, and zoanthid (may or may not be a star polyp).




Sorry if the pics are blurry, camera doesn't like the blue lighting too much

 

Love, love, love Duncans! Mine has grown really fast and had been such a pleasure. Congrats!!

 

Yup, the place I was buying my frags from suggested against torches and frog spawns and they just happened to have a Duncan frag


better pics now that everyone is fully adjusted. Is the far right coral a zoanthid or not?

the smaller of my two clowns has some nipped fins while the larger tries to assert dominance. They were in a "harem" tank at the store so they'll sort it out eventually. If he gets too damaged, I'll take her out for a bit or get a separator box thingy.

(my favorite son, shhh don't tell the others)

he flared at me cause I scared him, but I missed the shot of him with his full flare

 

That scooter is cute.

 

Turns out that the coral on the far right is a goniopora rather than a zoanthid. Has a skeleton base and extended Ita polyps which conformed my suspicion

That scooter is cute.

Thanks, I was originally going tk get the brown and white morph, but my roommate convinced me to get the red one and I'm glad I did

 

Gonis can be difficult.

I suggest researching corals/fish/inverts before you buy. Ask lots of questions and confirm with research. I’ve gotten lots of not so great advice on the fly and glad I looked into it more ...

Definitely everyone should have a refractometer. They are only a few dollars more but much more accurate!

Did you treat your fish before adding them?

 

Ekk. Definitely no red scooter in a nano unless you know how to care for it. What are you feeding it?

 

Gonis can be difficult.

I suggest researching corals/fish/inverts before you buy. Ask lots of questions and confirm with research. I’ve gotten lots of not so great advice on the fly and glad I looked into it more ...

Definitely everyone should have a refractometer. They are only a few dollars more but much more accurate!

Did you treat your fish before adding them?

I did not treat my fish. All three of them came from the same tank at the wholesaler, so they were all in "QT" together. Plus I have no meds and wouldn't know where to begin with preventative treatments.

Ekk. Definitely no red scooter in a nano unless you know how to care for it. What are you feeding it?

Unfortunately, my scooter died this morning. There are pods in the tank but he stopped eating for some reason. I even added extra pods from my "fuge". I would drop them straight in his face and he wouldn't even move whereas when I got him, he was all over the place. My other fish and corals were fine so I wouldn't think it was my water params. Not sure what was up with that, but I'm going to blame it on my impatience to buy one. Currently trying to contact the wholesaler I got them from to see what I can do for a guarantee since i'm currently three hours away.
Really bummed, not a great way to start my weekend. My plans are to add pods from algeabarn to the tank and wait a few months before trying again. I'll just focus on my clowns and my corals for now *sigh*

 

I did not treat my fish. All three of them came from the same tank at the wholesaler, so they were all in "QT" together. Plus I have no meds and wouldn't know where to begin with preventative treatments.



Unfortunately, my scooter died this morning. There are pods in the tank but he stopped eating for some reason. I even added extra pods from my "fuge". I would drop them straight in his face and he wouldn't even move whereas when I got him, he was all over the place. My other fish and corals were fine so I wouldn't think it was my water params. Not sure what was up with that, but I'm going to blame it on my impatience to buy one. Currently trying to contact the wholesaler I got them from to see what I can do for a guarantee since i'm currently three hours away.
Really bummed, not a great way to start my weekend. My plans are to add pods from algeabarn to the tank and wait a few months before trying again. I'll just focus on my clowns and my corals for now *sigh*

I’m sorry

 

Sorry to hear that Floundering.

 

Thanks guys trying not to wallow or I'll make myself feel worse

 

Thanks guys trying not to wallow or I'll make myself feel worse

Take this as a learning moment. Do LOTS of research before adding any new inhabitants ... also look up QT methods. Don’t rely on someone else to qt your fish. I’d also wait a while to add anything else. Let your parameters stabilize.

It very well could be your parameters. Adding 3 fish into a small system, that was really only cycled by moving existing media, all at once could cause an ammonia spike. Did you test your water?

 

Take this as a learning moment. Do LOTS of research before adding any new inhabitants ... also look up QT methods. Don’t rely on someone else to qt your fish. I’d also wait a while to add anything else. Let your parameters stabilize.

It very well could be your parameters. Adding 3 fish into a small system, that was really only cycled by moving existing media, all at once could cause an ammonia spike. Did you test your water?

NH3, NO2, NO3- 0 (running chaeto in my tank)
SG- 1.027
KH- 7
pH- 7.8
Ca- 460
PO4-0.25

 

Sorry to hear.
Just letting you know dragonets (scooters) arnt suitable for small tanks. They'll eat you clean of pods before the pods can reproduce quick enough. Typically dragonets eat about 3 pods per second and eat all day. So just an FYI. It's really a fish left for bigger tanks like in the realm of 90 gallons + for long term success. If you can see it's lateral lines (ribs) then it's starving. Dragonets can go down hill quick once they don't eat. They don't have a digestive track like regular fishes.

 

Sorry to hear.
Just letting you know dragonets (scooters) arnt suitable for small tanks. They'll eat you clean of pods before the pods can reproduce quick enough. Typically dragonets eat about 3 pods per second and eat all day. So just an FYI. It's really a fish left for bigger tanks like in the realm of 90 gallons + for long term success. If you can see it's lateral lines (ribs) then it's starving. Dragonets can go down hill quick once they don't eat. They don't have a digestive track like regular fishes.

Sorry to hear.
Just letting you know dragonets (scooters) arnt suitable for small tanks. They'll eat you clean of pods before the pods can reproduce quick enough. Typically dragonets eat about 3 pods per second and eat all day. So just an FYI. It's really a fish left for bigger tanks like in the realm of 90 gallons + for long term success. If you can see it's lateral lines (ribs) then it's starving. Dragonets can go down hill quick once they don't eat. They don't have a digestive track like regular fishes.

I'll just have to wait until I have a big tank *sigh*. I do want a third fish for the tank though, preferably a bottom dweller or a goby. I do have two zebra legged hermits and a scarlet hermit.

 

SG seems a tad high. I’d probably shoot for 1.025 to allow for evaporate raising it throughout the day.

Also, did you test the SG of the LFS water? How did you acclimate? A jump in SG can shock them with the added pressure.

Just trying to think of what may have gone wrong ...

 

Agreed 1.027 SG is a bit high.

But typically with wild caught dragonettes they don't ship well. From the time they are caught, shipped to the warehouses, and sent to the LFS... they are usually starving and skinny, from what I've heard, most of these places don't go out of their way to feed them either, because of their price point, of around $25 per dragonette. By the time you get the dragonette, you really need to feed it a variety of live food to bulk it back up asap. Most experienced reefers won't buy anything less than a fatty dragonette.
With that said, I really believe that wild dragonettes should just be left in the wild.

 

SG seems a tad high. I’d probably shoot for 1.025 to allow for evaporate raising it throughout the day.

Also, did you test the SG of the LFS water? How did you acclimate? A jump in SG can shock them with the added pressure.

Just trying to think of what may have gone wrong ...

For acclimation, I temperature acclimated the fish in a bag and then slowly added water from my tank to the bag over the course of an hour or two (was acclimating the corals at the same time, in a different container).

Agreed 1.027 SG is a bit high.

But typically with wild caught dragonettes they don't ship well. From the time they are caught, shipped to the warehouses, and sent to the LFS... they are usually starving and skinny, from what I've heard, most of these places don't go out of their way to feed them either, because of their price point, of around $25 per dragonette. By the time you get the dragonette, you really need to feed it a variety of live food to bulk it back up asap. Most experienced reefers won't buy anything less than a fatty dragonette.
With that said, I really believe that wild dragonettes should just be left in the wild.

I am pretty sure that the dragonet I bought was captive bred as he was only $15. I watched all the dragonets before deciding to get one and they were all eating, with nice fat bellies

 

Day whatever the heck it is:

My "male" clown is ridiculous and only eats small foods. I'm feeding a mixture of frozen mysis and new life spectrum pellets a few times a day. My larger clown will tear right through everything and has no problem gulping down pellets. My smaller clown however will pick at the mysis, seeming to spit some out and only eat some pieces, and has difficulty eating the pellets.

I just tried feeding some nano/fry pellets from Cobalt just to keep him fat (his belly is starting to dip) and he absolutely loved them. Any ideas as to why he's so finicky with his food? Any suggestions on what to feed him? I have frozen mysis, daphnia, bbs, and cyclops as well as the pellet and fry foods.

EDIT: he even spits out some of the fry food

 

For acclimation, I temperature acclimated the fish in a bag and then slowly added water from my tank to the bag over the course of an hour or two (was acclimating the corals at the same time, in a different container).

I am pretty sure that the dragonet I bought was captive bred as he was only $15. I watched all the dragonets before deciding to get one and they were all eating, with nice fat bellies

So you don’t know the starting SG? That may not have been the entire issue like Nart said, but it may have contributed if it was already a stressed fish. That and the small tank.

Always check he starting SG so you know how quickly you can acclimate. Many LFS keep the fish only around 1.020 and that’s quite a jump to make in an hour or so. Not saying that’s what happened ... but without knowing the LFS SG it definitely could have contributed.

 

Yeah, my lfs has their fish around 1.01 so my acclimation process takes several hours.

 

Day whatever the heck it is:

My "male" clown is ridiculous and only eats small foods. I'm feeding a mixture of frozen mysis and new life spectrum pellets a few times a day. My larger clown will tear right through everything and has no problem gulping down pellets. My smaller clown however will pick at the mysis, seeming to spit some out and only eat some pieces, and has difficulty eating the pellets.

I just tried feeding some nano/fry pellets from Cobalt just to keep him fat (his belly is starting to dip) and he absolutely loved them. Any ideas as to why he's so finicky with his food? Any suggestions on what to feed him? I have frozen mysis, daphnia, bbs, and cyclops as well as the pellet and fry foods.

EDIT: he even spits out some of the fry food

I would keep a very close eye on your parameters feeding that much food that often. Overfeeding can tank a small tank fast.

If he really is skinny, I’d try a couple times a day with only a couple pieces of food each time. If they don’t eat it, remove it so it doesn’t sit and foul the water. Even if they do eat it, it will come out in the form of waste, which will foul the water over time ...

Another thing you can do is treat for internal worms. This is very common in new fish. I’d remove them to a separate tank and use either PraziPro or MetroPlex. Can’t remember the dosing on metro but the prazI will need to be dosed probably 3-4 times every 3 days to be sure you’ve gotten eggs. Check to see how long the display will need to remain fallow too. It could be that you treat them and put them right back into an infected tank.

This is the importance of qt.

 

1.01? That's really low. Wow!

 

I am pretty sure that the dragonet I bought was captive bred as he was only $15. I watched all the dragonets before deciding to get one and they were all eating, with nice fat bellies

Captive bred dragonets go for in the upwards of $90.
Wild caught dragonets go for around the price you bought it at and to $25.

and as for the SG... ouch.
LJC6780 makes a good point. Many LFS keeps their FOWLR tank 1.020 SG. If your tank is 1.027 SG, the 1 to 2 hour acclimation time is no where enough. Typically with that much of a difference, people will use a bucket or a tank and slowly raise the SG over a course a week.

 

I would keep a very close eye on your parameters feeding that much food that often. Overfeeding can tank a small tank fast.

If he really is skinny, I’d try a couple times a day with only a couple pieces of food each time. If they don’t eat it, remove it so it doesn’t sit and foul the water. Even if they do eat it, it will come out in the form of waste, which will foul the water over time ...

Another thing you can do is treat for internal worms. This is very common in new fish. I’d remove them to a separate tank and use either PraziPro or MetroPlex. Can’t remember the dosing on metro but the prazI will need to be dosed probably 3-4 times every 3 days to be sure you’ve gotten eggs. Check to see how long the display will need to remain fallow too. It could be that you treat them and put them right back into an infected tank.

This is the importance of qt.

Is there a reason I shouldn't treat the display tank? Will the meds hurt my corals?! The only other tank I have right now is a 2.5 gallon

 

Yeah, my lfs has their fish around 1.01 so my acclimation process takes several hours.

1.010?! That sounds way low! I’ve heard of some keeping theirs at 1.019 for fish only. But when the normal Reef should be between 1.024-1.026 (small window) that seems really off to be that low.

 

Is there a reason I shouldn't treat the display tank? Will the meds hurt my corals?! The only other tank I have right now is a 2.5 gallon

Most meds are not coral/invert/worm safe ... some that kill parasites will also kill off fan worms and detritus worms and stuff ...

The only med I’ve heard that is Reef safe is one I’ve just started reading about called fluconazole. It’s an antifungal that apparently kills briopsis and gha!

If you can clean out the 2.5 you can use that. A 10 gal cheap from petco will work great too. Best to run qt bare bottom with heater, airline and some pipes for hiding places. Rocks and sand can absorb meds and make them drop below therapeutic levels. Some meds like copper can taint any rocks and stuff put in the tank and can never be used with a Reef. Depending on our treatment, you don’t necessarily need a cycled tank because you’ll have enough water volume for a couple days between water changes. Some treatments you can also use Prime (ammonia neutralizer) with but not all.

 

Most meds are not coral/invert/worm safe ... some that kill parasites will also kill off fan worms and detritus worms and stuff ...

The only med I’ve heard that is Reef safe is one I’ve just started reading about called fluconazole. It’s an antifungal that apparently kills briopsis and gha!

If you can clean out the 2.5 you can use that. A 10 gal cheap from petco will work great too. Best to run qt bare bottom with heater, airline and some pipes for hiding places. Rocks and sand can absorb meds and make them drop below therapeutic levels. Some meds like copper can taint any rocks and stuff put in the tank and can never be used with a Reef. Depending on our treatment, you don’t necessarily need a cycled tank because you’ll have enough water volume for a couple days between water changes. Some treatments you can also use Prime (ammonia neutralizer) with but not all.

The problem is, I'm in a dorm room and have a 5 gallon limit (so I'm technically not even supposed to have the 13.5). The only other tank I have is a 5 gallon, plus I'm already limited on space.
Went to the lfs today and one of the workers who has a reef keeper suggested ROD'S fish eggs to get him eating properly, rather than spitting out half his food. She says she gives at least two weeks to get newly shipped fish to eat.

 

Currently acclimating my male clown to the water from the 2.5. Did a water change on it to make sure the water params were good since it was just sitting there. Bought metroplex earlier today. He's so thin that you can see his lateral when he sits still long enough and his belly and forehead are concave. He is still eating though so I'm pretty confident that he'll make it through treatment.

On a different note, my ridiculous female clown is trying to host my gonI frag apparently


I had to back away from the front of the tank so she wouldn't beg for food.

Also, what is the white stringy thing on my frag plugs. My mind immediately went to nudis but they don't move by themselves, other than in the current

 

I don’t see a white stringy thing. Possibly a tube worm?